The resilience of Central Vietnam's dikes is fragile before storm No. 5

The dyke system in Nghe An province was once overwhelmed by the flood in September 2024. Photo: DUC QUYNH

Update on storm No. 5 as of 8:00 a.m. on August 25, at Bach Long Vi station ( Hai Phong city), there are strong winds of level 7, gusts of level 9; Co To station (Quang Ninh province) strong winds of level 6, gusts of level 9; Bai Chay station (Quang Ninh province) strong winds of level 6, gusts of level 8; Hon Ngu station (Nghe An province) strong winds of level 7, gusts of level 9; Con Co station (Quang Tri province) strong winds of level 6, gusts of level 8...

In Ha Tinh - Quang Tri provinces, there has been moderate rain, heavy rain, and in some places very heavy rain over 150mm.

Dikes in Nghe An province are fragile before the storm, September 2024

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that at 7:00 a.m. on August 25, the center of storm No. 5 was at coordinates of about 18.4 degrees North latitude - 107.2 degrees East longitude, about 160km East Southeast of Nghe An, about 145km East of Ha Tinh, and about 155km East Northeast of Quang Tri.

At 8 o'clock, the wind was still strong at level 14 (150-166km/h), gusting to level 17, moving in the West Northwest direction at a speed of about 20km/h.

Meteorological experts warn that with this level of storm, the resilience of dikes, level 4 houses, trees, temporary or unfinished construction works... still has many limits.

Source: Department of Meteorology and Hydrology

According to the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), the sea and river dyke systems in the provinces from Ninh Binh to Hue currently have 43 key and vulnerable locations.

The above sea dikes are currently designed to withstand level 9-10 storms, average tides of 5%; there is a high risk of being unsafe when storm No. 5 is strong at level 13-14, gusting at level 17 (exceeding the design level).

In particular, the sea dike of Hai Binh commune in Thanh Hoa province is low, was overflowed in 2017, and has not been reinforced or upgraded; the sea dike of Quynh Tho faces the sea, the beach in front of the dike is eroded, and the end of the line is not high enough; the dikes of Hoi Thong, Loc Ha, Cam Nhuong, and Hai - Ha - Thu in Ha Tinh province are still low and face the sea.